Protective preservative wrapping for food products.



pared food-product.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN J. FITZGERALD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF FIFTY-FIVE ONE-HUNDREDTHS TO E TG-ENE M. KEELEY, TWENTY-FIVE ONE-HUNDREDTHS TO JOHN M.WEIR, AND TWENTY ONE-HUNDREDTHS TO ROBERT T. WEIR.

PROTECTIVE PRESERVATIVE WRAPPING FOR FOOD PRODUCTS.

No Drwwing.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN J. FITZGERALD,acitizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Protective Preservative Wrappings for Food Products, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention hasfor itsobject the providing of a wrapping-material forprotectively Wrappin m perishable food-products in such manner fiiatthey will be preserved from decay or molding or fermentation or otherform of organic decomposition and from the ravages of insects orinseet'larvae, withoutneed for the introducing of preservatives into thebody of the food-prodnets to be Wrapped.

The involved process for protectively preserving food products is setforth in my copending application, Serial No. 491628, filed Apr. 22,1909.

Many food-products, such for instance, as prepared or smoked meats, andother prepared foods, are prepared, ready for wrapping, in suchmannerthat at the time they are wrapped they are entirely safe fromsubsequent decomposition or molding or the ravages of insect; larvae ifit is possible to prevent the subsequent development of mold ordecomposition through or just under the Wrapping and to prevent theattack of in sects or deposit of insect-eggs through the wrapping orenvelop of the wrapped product. To treat the body of the food-productwith preservatives, antiseptic or insecticidal, may impair the foodqualities or wholesomeness of the product or even make it seriouslyinjurious to health.

The material of my present invention consists of a wrapping-materialimpregnated with an antiseptic solution preventive of the development ofmold-spores or of any germs of decay or decomposition, and also with aninsectifuge or active principle that is repellent to insects, thematerial being one. adapted to the close or hermetic Wrapping orenveloping of the pre- For the antiseptic solution I may use,preferably, such an antiseptic as a boron compound, preferably asolution of borax; and for the insectifuge I may use such an activeSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 22, 1909.

Patented Dec. 31,1912.

Serial No. 491,618.

principle as the essence, essential oil, extract, 01' other activeprinciple of a spice or condiment that is repellent or repulsive toinsects, and preferably I use an emulsion of the oleoresin'of suchspice, a preferred oleoresin being that of capsicum. The borax solutionused may be a saturated aqueous one, but it is applied in such limitedquantity that the proportion of borax deposited in the wrapping materialis only a small percentage,-preferably about two and onehalf per centum,of the weight of the wrap ping-material impregnated, so that'noobjectionableexcess of the crystalline boron compound is deposited insaid wrappingmaterial; and the preparation of the oleoresin of capsicumused is applied in such proportion that the oleoresin deposited is,preferably, about one two-thousandth part,

or five hundredths of one per centum, of

the weight of the Wrapping-material impregnated. The mixture of theoleoresin with the aqueous solution of the boron compound, forapplication to the wrapping material, is effected by first making aperfect emulsion of the oleoresin with the aid of an emulsifying agent,such as gum-arabic, and then mixing such emulsion thoroughly with theaqueous solution, effecting a perfect diffusion of the emulsion throughthe solution, so that when the Wrapping-material is impregnated with themixture, the boron compound and the oleoresin of capsicum will both beevenly distributed throughout the entire substance of saidwrapping-material. The wrapping material used may be 7 wrapping-paperorother fibrous wrappingmaterial or wrapping-fabric or cardboard orscale-board or other wrapping-material used for packing or envelopingmeats or other food-products. When the food-product is wrapped with suchimpregnated wrapping-material, no mold-spores or any septic and .theinsectifuge from the wrap or both, to' the surface ofthe Wrapped productis so extremely superficial as,to make no impairment Whatever of thefood qualities of thefood-prodnct and to be in fact practically imerceptible when the product is unwrapped or use. The protectivequalities of the impregnated Wrapping-material are permanent, becauseboth the precipitated boron compound and the oleoresin of capsicum inthe body of such wrapping-material,- are non-volatile. I i

The protective preservative wrapping of my invention may be embodied invarious modifications Within the scope of the claims hereinafter made;and the antiseptic may be omitted where the protection afforded by it isnot required, as indicated by its omission fromthe terms of some of thesaid claims.

I claim V v v e 1. As an article of manufacture, for protectivelypreserving perishable food-products; wrapping-material permeated with anantiseptic'and an insectifuge, said insectifuge being the activeprinciple of a spice; substantially as specified.

2. As an article of manufacture, for protectively preserving perishablefood-products: wrapping-material permeated with an antisepticsolution'and anemulsion ofi oleoresin of capsicum; substantially asspeciucts: Wrapping-material permeated with a solution of a boroncompound and an emulucts; wrapping material impregnated with a solutionof borax and an emulsion of oleoresin of capsicum, the permeatedmaterial containing about two and one-half per centum of the borax andabout five-hundredths of one per centum of the oleoresin of capsicum;substantiallyas specified.

5. As an article of manufacture, for protectively. preserving perishablefood-"products: wrapping-material permeated with an antiseptic solutionand an-emulsion of the oleoresin of a spice; substantially as specified.

6. In an article of manufacture, for protectively preserving perishable"food-products: wrapping-material permeated with an 'insectifuge, saidinsectifuge being the active principle of a spice; substantially asspeci fied 7. In an article .of manufacture, for pro-- tectivelypreserving perishable food-prod,-

ucts Wrapping-material permeated with an emulsion of oleoresin ofc'apslcum; substantially as specified. I

8. In an article ofimanufacture, for protectively preserving perishablefood-products: wrapping-material impregnated with an emulsion ofoleoresin of capsicum, the permeated material containing about five--hundredths of one per centum of the oleoresin fied. 9. In an article ofmanufacture, for protectively preserving perishable food-products:wrapping-material permeated with an emulsion of the oleoresin of aspice;'substantially as specified;

of capsicum; substantially as speci- In testimony whereof I' hereuntoset my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN J. FITZGERALD. Witnesses HENRY Lovn CLARKE,

H. 'M. MUNDAY.

